Then and now photos of Warneford Station southwest of the community of Beardmore, ON. It is not often that you can capture a location that was made by human hands that has changed little in over 100 years. The first photo was taken circa 1916-1917 for an Ontario Bureau of Mines report on the Longuelac-Jellicoe-Orient Bay area. The second and third photos were taken in May 2021 and show the same spot with the rock cut, minus the rails, which were removed in 2010. Warneford was originally called Blackwater after the nearby river. It was located at Milepost 25.6 of the Canadian Northern Railway Nipigon Subdivision/Canadian National Railways Dorion Subdivision and later Milepost 75.3 of the Canadian National Railway Kinghorn Subdivision.
Warneford, circa 1917.Warneford, May 2021.Warneford, May 2021.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Blackwater River at Warneford Station with rock cuts, cliffs and the remains of the siding. There was a photo taken here in 1916-1917 and you will see that photo and how the area still appears the same.
Also features a 1946 diversion of the grade which saw a 0.3 mile section of line shifted from the north back of the river to the south bank and two trestles removed.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the original section of grade and the remains of two 348-foot trestles between Mileposts 24.9 and 25.2. This 0.3 mile section was abandoned and the grade rerouted south of the river in 1946 at the request of the Brompton Pulp and Paper company.
**Apologies for the muffled audio starting at 2:53. I put my GoPro in its waterproof case to protect it from damage, forgetting that it covers up the speakers on the camera. I did my best the raise the audio levels in editing, but it obviously sounds distorted.
Many thanks to Jeffrey Smith who provided the information to locate this forgotten section of grade.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Blackwater River just east of Warneford Station with culverts and rock cuts. Also features a 1946 diversion of the grade which saw a 0.3 mile section of line shifted from the north bank of the river to the south bank and two trestles removed.
Many thanks to Jeffrey Smith who provided the information to locate this forgotten section of grade.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Blackwater River with rock cuts, cuttings, the Mount Regis stop and the remains of a massive 1999 forest fire.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels the Blackwater River with rock cuts, a milepost marker, a concrete culvert and the remains of a massive 1999 forest fire.
Extra Credit is video series that examines topics related to history in the Thunder Bay District and exploring that history.
The Global Positioning System has revolutionized many areas, including history and hiking. My experience with GPS dates back over 20 years and first started as a school curriculum requirement. Join me as I talk about my GPS receiver and head outdoors along the former Kinghorn rail line for the first ever field segment of Extra Credit.
*The current comparable Garmin model is the eTrex 32x.
Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) locomotive #108 idles at unknown location, possibly Port Arthur or Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) circa 1918. The man on the right is likely well-known conductor Johnny Hume. A 2-6-0 Mogul (Class D-1-a), she was built in April 1889 by the Canadian Locomotive Company for the Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway. After being acquired by CNoR, she and her sister engine #107 worked mainly on the former Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway, which was known at the time as the Duluth Extension/North Lake Subdivision. After nationalization, they became the Canadian National Railways 470 and 471 respectively and continued on the North Lake line until they were scrapped in 1927.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 71.8-75.4) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it parallels Highway 11 and the Blackwater River with rock cuts, a telegraph pole, a milepost marker and a concrete culvert.
Video of the former Canadian Northern Railway/CN-Kinghorn (Dorion) Subdivision (MP 69.1-71.8) south of Beardmore, ON. Features the grade as it skirts and crosses the Blackwater River on a 195-foot bridge. Further south, it passes through rock cuts, over the Warneford Creek and then alongside Highway 11.
Poverty, Agony, Distress & Want! 